People v. Campbell

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 1, 2014
DocketE055528
StatusPublished

This text of People v. Campbell (People v. Campbell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Campbell, (Cal. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

Filed 7/1/14

CERTIFIED FOR PARTIAL PUBLICATION*

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, E055528

v. (Super.Ct.No. RIF10003985)

AARON ROBERT CAMPBELL et al., OPINION

Defendants and Appellants.

APPEAL from the Superior Court of Riverside County. W. Charles Morgan,

Judge. Affirmed with directions.

Steven Schorr, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and

Appellant Xavier James Fort.

Laura Schaefer, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and

Appellant Aaron Robert Campbell.

*Pursuant to California Rules of Court, rules 8.1105(b) and 8.1110, this opinion is certified for publication with the exception of parts III.B, III.C, and III.D.

1 Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney

General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, and Steve Oetting and Lise S.

Jacobson, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

I. INTRODUCTION

Defendant and appellant Aaron Robert Campbell met Silvester Leyva at a hookah

bar where they exchanged telephone numbers and discussed buying and selling

marijuana. A few days later, Campell and defendant and appellant Xavier James Fort,

among others, went to Leyva’s house to obtain marijuana. Leyva and his friend, Samuel

De La Torre, met Campbell in Leyva’s front yard. After De La Torre handed marijuana

to Campbell, Campbell pulled a gun and began to back away toward two waiting

vehicles. Fort, who was standing near the vehicles, fired his gun in the direction of the

house. Leyva was killed by one of the bullets.

A jury convicted defendants of first degree murder and found true a robbery

special-circumstance allegation. The jury also convicted them of two counts of robbery

based upon the taking of the marijuana. In one robbery count, Leyva was the victim; in

the other, De La Torre was the victim.

Regarding the murder charge, the jury was instructed on first degree felony

murder only, with robbery as the underlying felony. On appeal, Fort argues that, based

on the accusatory pleading, the trial court had a sua sponte duty to instruct on lesser

included offenses. We agree. Moreover, there was substantial evidence from which a

2 reasonable jury could conclude that a lesser offense, but not the greater, was committed.

Therefore, the court erred by failing to instruct the jury as to lesser included offenses.

In the nonpublished portion of our opinion we hold that the instructional error was

harmless, and we reject defendants’ argument that the evidence was insufficient to

support their convictions of the robbery of Leyva. We also conclude that the court’s stay

of a sentence enhancement term as to Fort constituted an unauthorized sentence, which

we correct.

II. FACTS

A. Prosecution Evidence

1. De La Torre’s Trial Testimony

De La Torre testified to the following. He had known Leyva for about four to six

months before the incident. On the evening of the incident, he arrived at Leyva’s house

between 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. There were 10 to 15 people present. The garage

door was open and there was no power on in the house.

De La Torre brought marijuana and intended “[j]ust to hang out, smoke.” De La

Torre owned and possessed the marijuana. He did not plan to sell the marijuana. When

he and Leyva were in the backyard smoking and drinking, someone informed them that

some men were out front looking to buy marijuana, and that they had been texting or

calling Leyva. After talking with Leyva, De La Torre took the marijuana out front to sell.

When De La Torre got out front, there were three African-American males asking

about marijuana. De La Torre had never seen them before. De La Torre took one bud of

3 marijuana out to show them. During this encounter, both he and Leyva were involved in

the conversation. De La Torre did the negotiating while Leyva watched. However, De

La Torre said he thought that when the prospective buyer asked for the price, Leyva

“maybe threw a number out there . . . .”

At some point, Leyva said the price should be around $550 for two ounces, but De

La Torre said he wanted to get $600. De La Torre testified that he did not want to sell it

for $550 because Leyva “wanted to make some money or something, so I was helping

him out.” (The record is not clear as to whether this discussion with Leyva took place

before Leyva and De La Torre met the men in the front yard or in the presence of those

men.)

The man seeking to buy the marijuana said he did not bring any money and had to

go to an ATM. He and the other men left in a red Honda Accord. After they left, the

garage door was closed and everyone at Leyva’s house went inside. There were no lights

on in the house or on the front porch. In the house, Levya, De La Torre, and others

continued smoking marijuana and consuming alcohol.

After about 20 minutes, the red Honda and a silver Chevrolet Malibu or Impala

pulled up in front of the house. Looking through the front window, De La Torre

observed four or five people get out of the silver car and three get out of the red car. The

individuals spread out about an arm’s length apart at the sidewalk area. A few of them

were on the sidewalk and a few in the street. Around this time, Leyva received a

telephone call or text message.

4 After waiting about two minutes, De La Torre walked outside. Leyva and others

were behind De La Torre. De La Torre believed the men outside the house intended to

take the marijuana against his will. He decided he would give them the marijuana

without putting up a fight because he did not want any problems. However, he left the

marijuana in an office inside the house.

Leyva asked for the person he had met a few days earlier. An individual with

orange hair approached and said he was looking for marijuana and had the money. Leyva

was “doing the talking.” The conversation occurred on the walkway between the garage

and the front door. As Leyva and the ostensible buyer talked, De La Torre went into the

house to get the marijuana. When he came back outside, Leyva was still talking with the

individual.

When De La Torre held out the bag of marijuana, the man grabbed it and asked if

it was all there. De La Torre said it was. The man then stepped back, pulled a gun,

cocked it, and told everybody to go back into the house. He said something like:

“[D]on’t do anything stupid.” De La Torre and his friends put their hands up and walked

backwards. As he turned to walk into the house, Leyva crossed his path and yelled

something like: “I know you guys’s homie.” He then heard three shots. Leyva was hit.

De La Torre did not see anybody firing the shots.

2. Police Interview of Campbell

Leyva’s death was investigated by Gary Bowen, a special investigator with the

Riverside County Sheriff’s Department homicide unit. Bowen found four text messages

5 on Leyva’s telephone sent from Campbell’s telephone on the day of the shooting at 11:14

p.m., 11:15 p.m., 11:47 p.m., and 11:48 p.m. Bowen interviewed Campbell the day after

the shooting. Campbell had orange-tinted hair.

Campbell told Bowen that he met a Hispanic male at a hookah lounge in the City

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People v. Campbell, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-campbell-calctapp-2014.